An Offering of Oil and Talismans in Celebration of the Feast of St. Expedite

April 19, 2023April 19, 2023 ~ B. Key ~ Leave a comment

Joyous feast of St. Expedite, holy martyr and swift intercessor of our souls! A saint deeply cherished by all three of us at With Cunning & Command, he’s been a continual guide, tutor, and ally in our workings. For his 2023 feast, I am proud to present a fresh take on an old offering, as well as three new rigorously-tested oils available for all who would like to further ingress into the pious soldier’s mysteries, accumulate great fortune and phenomenal luck, and solicit financial blessings, boons, and all manner of opportunities for the generation of wealth.

The intertwined consecration of the first batch of oils.

Oil of St. Expedite: Gold Edition

An oil built at the guiding hand of St. Expedite over many years and just as many iterations, bringing about countless successful workings, manifestations, and results for both myself and others along the way. This edition of the oil serves as a distilled offering to the Saint himself, primarily stirring him and his legions to action and guiding his virtues and sympathies into workings under his auspices. I recommend applying seven drops to the right foot of an image of St. Expedite upon the reception of this oil in order to complete a final personalized consecration. Cinnamon bark, cinquefoil, coconut flesh, coffee beans, dice, eucalyptus, lemongrass, blessed palm fronds from a Catholic church, crumbs from multiple pound cakes offered to St. Expedite in exchange for successful workings in his name, roses fed holy water from three different Catholic churches and offered to St. Expedite on Easter, whole vanilla beans, wintergreen leaves, skeleton keys, scraps of cloth from a cape that adorned a statue of St. Expedite, dirt from various shrines to St. Expedite, gold, silver, a carrier oil kept and fed on St. Expedite’s shrine for one year from feast to feast, and additional vegetable, animal, and mineral components. 1 fluid ounce / 30 milliliter amber glass dropper bottle.

$60.00

Oil of St. Expedite: Red Edition

An oil that expands on a traditional Hoodoo formula to bring luck in all forms, especially in financial and amatory workings. This edition of the oil was tested through cash bingo games at a local bar, thoroughly satisfying my expectations after winning 4 of the 7 games played, much to the delight, or chagrin, of the bar’s patrons. Alkanet roots, multiple varieties of cinnamon bark, coconut flesh, blessed palm fronds from a Catholic church, roses fed holy water from three different Catholic churches and offered to St. Expedite on Easter Sunday, whole vanilla beans, scraps of cloth from a cape that adorned a statue of St. Expedite, a carrier oil kept and fed on St. Expedite’s shrine for one year from feast to feast, and additional vegetable, animal, and mineral components. 1 fluid ounce / 30 milliliter amber glass dropper bottle.

$60.00

The Green Oil, having been produced from the bodies of Gold and Red.

Oil of St. Expedite: Green Edition

An oil that expands on a traditional Hoodoo formula to bring monetary, financial, and business success, along with myriad other forms of wealth. This oil’s construction was made possible only after the Gold and Red editions brought the material and financial components included within. Shredded currency won through gambling using the Red Oil, multiple varieties of cinnamon bark, cinquefoil, hyssop, indigo powder, lemongrass, multiple varieties of mint, coconut oil, sunflower oil, sweet almond oil, wormwood, gold, a carrier oil kept and fed on St. Expedite’s shrine for one year from feast to feast, and additional vegetable, animal, and mineral components. 1 fluid ounce / 30 milliliter amber glass dropper bottle.

$60.00

The three mother bottles receiving their final consecrations.

A Trinity of Oils

For those who wish to purchase a set of of each Gold, Red, and Green editions of Expedite Oil, a discounted rate is available. Three 1 fluid ounce / 30 milliliter amber glass dropper bottles.

$160.00

Mercury in Nutmeg, Third Edition

Back by popular demand, a batch of Mercury in Nutmeg charms are available for the Feast of St. Expedite. As described in a post all their own, these talismans for all manner of luck-enhancement can be petitioned with your desires in mind in order to bring about expedient and radical changes in fortune. Born from a year of continuous experimentation with the aim of refining the ensorcelled components therein, the third edition of the Mercury in Nutmeg charms contain an improved variation of the powdery matrix that fuels the talisman and an improved internal load born of metallurgical and alchemical processes hard won from the various patrons of these arts. As with previous editions of this talisman, a cantrip similar to a “knotting the wind” charm has been included to unleash a brief yet intense boost in luck in a critical moment. In order to use this extra boost in power, untie the red cord affixed to the talisman and burn it, scattering the ashes to the wind.

Those who have purchased previous editions report best results when carrying the talisman with them, or keeping the talisman situated in work spaces, on computer desks, or inside the cash registers of their businesses. As these talismans are very much alive, the spirit should be nourished with offerings of strong, dark liquors such as whiskey, brandy or dark rum, tobacco smoke, red, green, or yellow candles, and praise upon successful completion of tasks.

All Third Edition Mercury in Nutmeg talismans have been sold as of April 19, 2023! Thank you all so much for your support!

The first batch of individual bottles for sale being set over the Kamea of Mercury.

The products herein are made in limited quantity and offered on a first-come, first-serve basis as curios only. Please allow up to one week from the time of purchase to package and ship each order. An email with tracking information, when available, will be sent to the address associated with the PayPal used at purchase.

For those interested in bespoke work or wholesale opportunities, contact us [here]. Stay tuned for more offerings shortly, as well as an exciting new project for the entire blog!

Thank you, St. Expedite, for guiding my hands.

Gird ye on Every Man His Sword: To Arm a Statue of St. Expedite

July 20, 2022 ~ B. Key ~ 1 Comment

Since visiting Sfinga earlier this year (some highlights of which can be seen here and here), a great deal of my time and energy have gone towards better ensouling and anchoring spirits into particular loci of devotion; in this world as well as the next. These developments primarily stem from numerous midnight talks between Sfinga and I, in which we mused about and theorized practical strategies towards the “arming” of our spirits. After years of covering ourselves in talismans, phylacteries, amulets, powders, condition oils, and the like, it seemed the natural next step would be to give similar to our spirit allies, such that they may independently reap the boons from the vary materia that they helped craft. This is not only a core principle to much cross-cultural technology with respect to seating spirits and birthing their vessels, but also a rather intuitive concept: if you’ve hired a skilled mercenary to protect you, would you rather he defend you in the hostile wilderness with no supplies and rusty ammunitions, or amidst a heavily-stocked fortress complete with neighboring alliances whose spies would inform of you of danger well ahead of time?

I began by consulting with my court to me to see what could potentially be desired, and one of the most prominent figures that immediately stepped forward to request such a working was St. Expedite (conveniently adding to our rapidly growing series of Expedite-related posts). Himself a centurion in life and just a capable warrior in holy death, it was not the good saint’s appearance that surprised me, rather the specifics of his request, which to this day still do. As I sat in contemplation, he delineated the recipe for what remains one of the most involved, intricate, and complex magical workings that I have had the privilege to see to completion.

The good saint revealed a recipe to me for what would serve as a load to the statue that has been the centerpiece of my altar since my devotional practice with him began. On a basic level, to load a statue is to fill it with the materials that carry the virtues sympathetic to the spirit, arming the spirit with tools to use once it is more strongly linked to the image. Naturally, this involves properly baptizing the statue as the spirit’s own, and preventing other spirits from inhabiting the figure in order to steal any offerings made. In the majority of the traditions in which I am involved, there is always a warning about buying statues and figures for spirits without baptizing and dedicating them properly—at minimum, they should be washed, fumigated, and prayed over to ensure that only the spirit being called into it will take up residence within its shape (or rather use it as their glove if it is not itself a house for them), lest ambient spirits become attracted to the spiritual attention it receives and come to shapeshift into its form. Different techniques exist across the globe, some very rightly claiming to place the spirit into the image—my personal favorite examples of this come from Thailand, in which amulets or bucha pieces can be fully ensouled and inhabited by the spirits residing within them—whereas others serve to increase the sympathy between and co-mingle the essences of the image and the spirit without actually calling the spirit to fully live within. I want to emphasize that this particular recipe falls into the latter category—one could hardly hope to place an ever-wandering saint into such any such vessel!

The recipe itself begins with the time in which it was to be made—the ten day period from Palm Sunday to St. Expedite’s feast. For each day in the Holy Week, specific ingredients corresponding to the holidays were to be gathered, and then in turn blessed every day following their collection, such that each piece received a blessing “today”. As I began to compile the list, I was initially daunted by the sheer scale of what would be needed. However, fueled by the power and potency of the saint that has been such a trusted compatriot over the years, I became determined to see things through while the spirit of the work was upon me, my ambition fully stoked.

For the next week, it was if I was possessed by the spirit of the work itself, with every waking moment consumed either by the collection and processing of materia, or the inspired contemplation of the loads as they began to take shape. Each day consisted of a spirit-lead journey around the city, visiting dozens of locations and negotiating with the spirits of each for permission and blessing to do my work, making offerings at each place of power along the way. I began to notice early on in the process that each ritual step closely matched the Passion—Palm Sunday bringing with it workings at the gates of seven cemeteries to mirror the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Maundy Thursday bringing with it devils that walk the earth on the eve of the crucifixion and their being crushed beneath the foot of St. Expedite, crossroads workings performed and dirts collected as Jesus walked through the streets toward Calvary, dives into the underworld during the Harrowing of Hell, the triumphant return therefrom on Easter, and the ultimate culmination of the work on St Expedite’s feast.

At every turn, the working moved to finish itself, with incredibly lucky opportunities enabling the acquisition of trickier-to-find materia that needed to be collected and blessed on the same ritually potent day. Finding floral and herbal materia drifting down the river or floating in sacred grottoes at the beck and call of my sea spirits, encountering doors and gates unlocked (or very literally opening before me at utterance of a charm and wave of a spirit’s hand!), chance encounters with people on the street handing me that which was needed in exchange for a cigarette—all these and more highlighted just how much the Good Saint and I shared in the desire to see the creation finished.

As the adage goes, a magician must never reveal his secrets, but what follows is a fraction of the saint’s armament, for those with the cunning to replace the gears and wind the springs missing from a watch that ticks ever onward to the beat of “to-day-to-day to-day…”

Blend of soils from 7 crossroads collected on Good Friday
Blend of soils from the gates of 7 different cemeteries collected on Palm Sunday
Blend of soils from 7 Catholic churches collected on St. Expedite’s Feast
St. Expedite’s Hodie Powder (as discussed in a post from Sfinga, here)
A few drops of my personal St. Expedite Oil
A vehicle for the spirit of the Crow-Devil crushed beneath the foot of St. Expedite crafted on Maundy Thursday
A wishing bean, baptized in a river on the Harrowing of Hell
A piece of a palm frond from Palm Sunday Mass
A piece of the pound cake offered to the saint at the start of the work
A piece of the pound cake offered to the saint on His feast
Wax from dressed candles burnt as offerings on His Feast
A small square of fabric torn from the cape that adorned my St. Expedite statue over the duration Holy Week
Herbs blessed on His shrine including Abre Camino, Basil, Myrrh, Palo Santo, Spearmint, Vervain, and Vanilla beans
A skeleton key blessed at a crossroads
A small ampoule of Mercury

At last count, each load totaled around 100 components, the most important of which were tokens of those intangible acts found in the unfailing collection and processing of the materia on each day of Holy Week. As the final assembly was performed, every component and individual blessing to this point snapped into place and began to hum with a potency far greater than the sum of the individual parts, almost rhythmically and mechanically whirring together into an elegant machine in my own sorcerous arsenal—and the arsenal of the saint alike. In taking stock of the work, I have a newfound appreciation for the tireless diligence that the saint brings to his works, and an enflamed drive to go the extra miles for my spirits, without hesitation or fear of complexity or effort required for certain procedures or practices.

Two statue loads, one for myself and one for Sfinga, receiving their final blessings on St. Expedite’s feast day.

I cased the loads into blessed wax, allowing them to sit in the containers of used tealights in order to retain their smaller shape. From here, they could be easily removed and fitted into the bottom of any such statue once it was sufficiently hollowed out with a drill. After the load’s incorporation with the statue, I’ve noticed any workings performed with the aide or through the intercession of St. Expedite have greatly increased in efficacy and potency, with the saint heavier upon me than ever before, more ready to step forth and provide his aide today, with his new armor in hand, and girt upon him, his sword.

St. Expedite’s “Hodie” Powder

March 27, 2022April 23, 2022 ~ Sfinga ~ Leave a comment

I’m beyond thrilled that Key has joined us on this blog! After years of deep friendship between the three of us, plenty of sorcerous collaboration, and a great many late-night Discord calls discussing all manner of philosophy, magic, and jailbreaking our way through various texts, it’s a real joy to collaborate in blogging as well. Spending time together in person this month had been such a boon (the hope is to meet up again soon in the coming months!), and we’re already plotting a whole new host of experiments to try out and materia to make, including some Boxgrove Manual and Book of Oberon fun.

Within a few hours of picking him up at the airport, we had already begun to plan out our first working. We had both been itching to conjure, create, bewitch, and just collaborate together post Key’s licença, and had a great many ideas already in mind, but we both wanted to do something that very night—we were just not yet certain as to what. Our answer dawned on us when, on a trip to the local grocery to pick up extra offerings for each other’s spirits, our gaze landed on the pound cake aisle, and our minds wandered to one of our favourite mutual folk saints.

St. Expedite has been a phenomenal ally to us both. In my case specifically, his repeated swift intercession has earned him a place even in my Eastern Orthodox family’s homes, with various relatives submitting their own petitions to me to offer on their behalf. For Key, he’s formed a powerful component of his ever-increasing court of treasure hunting alchemists. We’ve both experimented with various charms, talismans, and workings received from the hands of the good Saint, and decided it was as good a time as any—that is, right now—to create a powder we had been independently receiving the pieces of the recipe for over some time. While we petition St. Expedite’s intercession in moments of dire need, the intention behind this powder is to have on hand a dust consecrated to his virtues to include in all manner of other workings, made under the auspices of this martyr’s fervent and miraculous hands.

I had been saving a jar of dirt collected on his feast from Our Lady of Guadeloupe Church in New Orleans (complete with some dust and pebbles from his famous statue housed within), that one of our godbrothers in Quimbanda had mailed to me. Initially, I kept thinking that I would use it on his next feast, being this year’s, to finally create this powder. The message both of us received simultaneously was loud and clear—the only “election” when it came to the timing of its creation was now, immediately. While we could certainly put the finishing touches on its consecration, and birth other sets of materia magica from it later on the feast, it was imperative that we work then and there in the spirit of “today”.

The base is fairly simple: cinnamon, basil, rosemary, ginger, hyssop, chamomile, lemongrass, white sage, ground nutmeg, laurel, mint, lavender, honey, rum, red wine, and rose petals—all prayed to and enlivened—formed a potent beginning for a dust dedicated to quickening manifestations and bringing immediate success, especially in matters of wealth and road opening. To this was added a powdered slice of pound cake from an entire loaf offered to the Saint, the aforementioned dirt, a burnt and powdered copy of Psalm 23 from a Bible, the verses of Psalm 77: 14-15 written across five bay leaves that were subsequently enchanted and powdered, and pinches of Spica and Regulus powders (elected by Salt). At one point, one of my spirits manifested, commanding Key to taste the mixture, at which point he immediately divined the final series of elements that were needed (and will naturally remain secret). One decidedly Orthodox ingredient that we included is my very own Thursday Salt from 2021, the famous rye flour and coarse rock salt combination made in many Slavic households on Orthodox Maundy Thursday.

Key’s oil from his initial batch, which he also outfitted with an enchanted gambling die.

The mixture additionally received drops of Key’s personal St. Expedite oil as well as our good friend Mahigan’s Oil of St. Expedite. We can both highly recommend his work over at Kitchen Toad and were delighted to include his oil alongside Key’s own. I’ve tested both oils thoroughly, and both have ensured that events which were fixed to take place months in the future occurred within a few days or even the same day, cutting down deadlines and bringing shipments to the doors of the small businesses of my family and friends swiftly.

At the time that Key had made his recipe, which included separate consecrations and steps on Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and finally Easter Sunday, he had also divined a mojo hand to compliment the oil with. The bag itself must be made from a red cloth that served as the cape of the Saint’s consecrated statue for a certain period of time, to which is added a series of ingredients including the charmed die, and secured on the outside with a cross formed by a cinnamon stick and a skeleton key. The final product of the powder was added to this hand as well, at which point it was given its name and fully ensouled.

The finished powder resting by his statue at my icon corner.

In the spirit of the powder itself, everything had to be consecrated and made immediately, today. Once it was sufficiently prayed over and activated, and its corresponding fixed candle consumed, we scooped it into its mother jar and tossed in a prayer card anointed with both oils. Since then, including this powder in workings, as part of candle-fixing blends, or as components in herbal talismans has ensured for consistently fast manifestation rates.

There are plenty of more St. Expedite-related workings to come, especially as Key and I prepare to create some new goodies for the saint leading up to his feast. In the meanwhile as we work on more materia, consider checking out the following article by our good friend and godbrother Matt Venus of Spiritus Arcanum to learn more about the good saint: [LINK]. If you’re in the mood to make a powder to the saint yourself, consider petitioning him for a similar recipe to be revealed and make it as soon as you’re able in preparation for his feast, or, you can buy a bottle from Mahigan [HERE] for the same purpose (and consider his excellent candles, oils, and rosaries too!).